The Bloodiest Fight in the Peninsula
“Then out spoke brave Horatius,
The captain of the gate:
‘To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late;
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his gods?’”
—MACAULAY.
Hill’s front stretched through two miles; his left; a wooded craggy ridge, was held by Pringle’s brigade, but was parted from the centre by a marshy valley and a chain of ponds; his centre occupied a crescent-shaped broken ridge; his right, under General Byng, held a ridge parallel with the Adour. The French gathered in great masses on a range of counter-heights, an open plain being between them and Hill’s centre. The day was heavy with whirling mist; and as the wind tore it occasionally asunder, the British could see on the parallel roads before them the huge, steadily flowing columns of the French.
Abbé led the attack on the British centre. He was “the fighting general” of Soult’s army, famous for the rough energy of his character and the fierceness of his onfall. He pushed his attack with such ardour that he forced his way to the crest of the British ridge. The famous 92nd, held in reserve, was brought forward by way of counter-stroke, and pushed its attack keenly home. The head of Abbé’s column was crushed; but the French general replaced the broken battalions by fresh troops, and still forced his way onward, the 92nd falling back.
Battle of St. Pierre, December 9th & 13th, 1813. From Napier’s “Peninsular War.”